Reuters
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Hungary said on Friday it had detained seven Ukrainians carrying about $82 million in cash and gold on suspicion of money laundering, as Kiev accused Budapest of holding bank workers hostage amid a dispute over oil shipments.
The Hungarian tax authorities’ decision to have anti-terrorism forces raid two Ukrainian armored vehicles transporting cash into Ukraine marks a dramatic escalation in tensions that have already resulted in Budapest blocking tens of billions of euros in European Union aid to Kiev.
“The National Tax and Customs Administration (NAV) is proceeding with criminal proceedings on suspicion of money laundering,” the agency said in a statement.
“On March 5, 2026, we detained seven Ukrainian nationals, including a former Ukrainian intelligence general, and two armored cash transport vehicles that were transporting a total of $40 million, €35 million, and nine kilograms of gold from Austria to Ukraine.”
Tax authorities said they were cooperating with counter-terrorism forces. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said Kiev needed to provide answers about cash transportation across Hungary.
Government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs said the seven detainees would be expelled from Hungary. It was not immediately clear what would happen to the funds they were transporting.
Ukraine’s ambassador to Hungary, Sander Fezil, visited the anti-terrorism center headquarters in Budapest to meet with detained Ukrainians, according to two Reuters witnesses.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sibikha said the detained were employees of Oshad Bank.
“In fact, we are talking about Hungary taking hostages and stealing money. This is state terrorism and extortion,” Sibiha wrote to X.
He said Ukraine had sent an official letter calling for the immediate release of its citizens and called on the European Union to “provide clear qualifications for Hungary’s illegal actions.”
Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs later advised Ukrainian citizens not to travel to Hungary, saying that their safety could not be guaranteed amid the “arbitrary actions” of the Hungarian authorities.
Hungary and Slovakia have accused Ukraine of deliberately delaying the resumption of oil supplies via the damaged Druzhba pipeline for political reasons. Kiev denies the charges, saying it needs time to repair damage caused to its energy infrastructure by a January 27 Russian drone attack.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who faces a serious challenge to his 16-year rule in a general election on April 12, has made the Ukraine war a central pillar of his campaign, saying opposition forces will drag Hungary into the conflict.
He vetoed new EU sanctions on Moscow as well as massive loans to Ukraine over the oil dispute.
Sibiha wrote to X that Kiev is demanding that “Hungary stop dragging Ukraine into its domestic politics and electoral activities.”
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán accused Kiev of extortion and said Hungary would use all means until oil flows resumed.
“We will suspend diesel exports to Ukraine and continue to maintain electricity exports. We will also suspend transit transport through Hungary, which is important for Ukraine, until we receive Ukraine’s approval for oil transport,” Prime Minister Orbán told state radio. He did not mention the detention of bank employees.
The Ukrainian Savings Bank said its employees were carrying out their daily work “in accordance with international agreements with Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank.”
“Foreign currency and bank metals have been transported exclusively by land since the beginning of the full-scale invasion,” the ministry said in a statement. “Similar trips are carried out weekly by Oshad Bank cash collection vehicles.”
Raiffeisen International declined to comment on the matter, citing bank secrecy rules.
